Maintainers with the 39th Logistic Readiness Squadron at Incirlik AB, Turkey, are resorting to an old refueling technique—last used there a decade ago—that minimizes equipment wear and tear, saves maintenance time, and affords pilots more training time. The technique, called “hot pitting,” calls for fuels airmen to refuel an aircraft while its engines are running. The maintainers are applying the method to F-16s newly arrived for a training exercise from the 22nd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, Germany.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
